ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI ๐ History at a Glance In the final days of World War II, two Japanese cities experienced devastation unmatched in human history: On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on the city of Hiroshima. The blast killed tens of thousands instantly; by year’s end, the death toll had grown as survivors succumbed to burns, radiation sickness, and related falls in health. Just three days later, on August 9, 1945, a second bomb, nicknamed “Fat Man”, was dropped on Nagasaki, ending in the deaths of many thousands more. These are the only times in history nuclear weapons have been used in war. The bombings helped bring about Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, thereby ending its involvement in World War II. . ๐ฏ Why It Happened The U.S. and Allied leadership believed that an invasion of Japan would cost enormous lives, and using the atomic bomb might bring the war to a swift end....